Israeli Justice Minister Levin’s Judicial Overhaul Deepens National Divide and Legal Deadlock
In the 2022 election campaign, Israel's Likud party promised comprehensive reforms across various sectors, including a detailed plan for free education from birth. However, the only plan that persisted post-election was the judicial overhaul, which has caused unprecedented societal fractures. Defense officials later suggested that Hamas exploited this internal division and the military's unpreparedness to launch their attack.
Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced sweeping judicial reforms shortly after the new government was sworn in on January 4, 2023. His proposals included changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to ensure equal representation from the three branches of government, abolishing the reasonableness standard, limiting the Attorney General's role, introducing an override clause, and restricting the Supreme Court's authority to annul Basic Laws and regular legislation. Levin had long prepared these plans but faced immediate criticism that they would dismantle the system of checks and balances, concentrating unprecedented power in the government, which already controls the Knesset.
Levin initially refused the Justice Ministry post in 2020 due to restrictions on implementing his agenda but accepted it in late 2022 after those constraints were lifted amid Netanyahu's ongoing legal troubles. Despite his efforts, Levin failed to appoint any new Supreme Court justices, as the court vetoed his nominees, leaving the court a third short of its full bench and delaying cases. He and Gideon Sa'ar passed a law to change the Judicial Selection Committee, effective next Knesset, which removes Bar Association representatives and adds coalition and opposition members, requiring cross-faction agreement for appointments.
Other reforms faced obstacles: the override clause law was never enacted due to mass protests and the outbreak of war, though it created a chilling effect on the Supreme Court. The reasonableness standard was abolished by legislation passed amid fierce opposition, including from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but later narrowly struck down by the Supreme Court. Levin also sought to diminish the Attorney General's power by splitting the role and allowing ministers to appoint their own legal advisors, a move partially approved but expected to face legal challenges.
Levin’s tenure is marked by confrontational politics, refusing compromise on key issues such as convening the Judicial Selection Committee and clashing with the Supreme Court president and Attorney General. While he claims opposition in the judiciary blocked his reforms, his approach has deepened societal divisions and created legal and political paralysis, directly harming ordinary citizens awaiting court resolutions. Levin views the upcoming elections as a referendum on his judicial revolution, aiming to appoint conservative judges and continue reshaping Israel’s legal system if Likud forms the next government. His reforms have fundamentally altered public perception of the judiciary’s role, sparking fierce debate over democracy and judicial independence in Israel. Both supporters and critics agree that the current turmoil is only the beginning.
